Glove construction



Feb. 6, 1968 M. w. ISRAEL 3,366,973

GLOVE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 18, 1965 3 Sheets-$heet 1 INVENTOR MILTONW. ISRAEL ATTORNEYS Feb. 6, 1968 w, |$RAEL 3,366,973

GLOVE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 18, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 6

INVENTOR MILTON W. ISRAEL M M f ATTORNEYS Feb. 6, 1968 M.'W. ISRAELGLOVE CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 18, 1965 FIG. 7

FIG. 8

INVE NTOR MILTON W. ISRAEL ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,366,973GLOVE CONSTRUCTION Milton W. Israel, University City, Mo., assignor toAngelica Uniform Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of MissouriFiled Aug. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 480,556 Claims. (Cl. 2-169) This inventionrelates generally to the glove art, and more particularly toimprovements in resiliently expansible gloves.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedstretch-type glove having elongation characteristics adapted toaccommodate hands of different size and adjust to various fingerlengths.

Another object is to provide a novel glove construction to provide asnug, but non-binding fit, and eliminating the need for using thefourchette or kyle to achieve such a fit.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stretchtype glOVe formedfrom a novel pattern eliminating the need for a seam at the finger tipsthereby reducing bulk in the finger portions and increasing the comfortand sensitivity of the fingers.

Another object is to provide a glove in which the entire body portionmay be formed as a unitary blank and folded upon itself for stitching,and in which a separate thumb portion is formed as a unitary blank andinset into the body portion.

Another object is to provide a novel glove requiring a minimum ofstitching and having no objectionable bulk or seams.

A further object is to provide a novel, inexpensive, stretch-type fabricglove particularly adapted for use as a protective hand covering forclean room conditions or the like requiring special sanitary conditions.

A further object is to provide a stretch-type work glove adapted to beformed with a palm and finger blank of non-porous material and a handback and finger blank of resiliently expendable material.

Another object is to provide a novel glove formed from a universalpattern for both the left and right hands.

A still further object is to provide a novel pattern and method by whicha glove may be economically and simply manufactured with savings in bothlabor and material.

These and still other objects and advantages will become more apparenthereinafter.

Briefly, the invention is embodied in a glove construction having bodyand thumb portions, said body portion having front and back sectionswith at least two finger portions of equal length, the finger portionsbeing joined along a fold line at the fingertip ends thereof, the bodyand thumb portions being formed from stretch fabric providing endwiseelongation to adjust the length of the two finger portions. In addition,the invention consists in the novel pattern for the glove and in themethod of making the glove.

The invention is also embodied in the construction and in thearrangements and combinations of parts and features hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification andwherein like numerals refer to like parts wherever they occur:

FIG. 1 .is a plan view of a body portion blank for a glove embodying theinvention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a thumb portion blank for a glove embodying theinvention,

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the folded and stitched body and thumb portions,respectively,

FIG. 5 is a view showing the thumb portion inset into the body portionof the glove,

FIG. 6 is a greatly enlarged view showing a finished glove according toFIGS. 1-5,

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a glove body pattern for another embodiment ofthe invention,

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a thumb pattern for said other embodiment, and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing a finished glove according to FIGS. 7and 8.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-6 of the drawings wherein one gloveconstruction 10 embodying features of the invention is illustrated, theglove construction ltl is formed from body and thumb patterns providinga glove body blank 11 shown in FIG. 1 and a glove thumb blank 12 shownin FIG. 2.

The body blank or pattern 11 comprises a first section 13 and a secondsection 14 interconnected in a unitary piece. For reference purposes,the first section 13 will be called the front section and the secondsection 14 Will be called the back section, but it will be understoodthat these words are not limiting since the glove 10 can be worn oneither the right or left hand as will become more readily apparenthereinafter.

The front section 13 has a carpus or wrist portion 15, metacarpus orpalm portion 16 and small, ring, middle and index phalanx or fingerportions 17, 18, 19 and 20, respectively. The back section 14 has acarpus or wrist portion 21, metacarpus or hand portion 22 and small,ring, middle and index phalanx or finger portions 23, 24, 25 and 26,respectively. The term hand portion may be used herein interchangeablywith the term palm portion to indicate the metacarpus or principal partsof the hand. The front and back sections 13 and 14 are identical inconfiguration and the three major length finger portions 18, 24 and 19,25 and 20, 26 are of equal length and are joined along a fold line aa atthe common fingertip ends 29, 30 and 31 thereof. The free margins 27 and28 of the wrist portions 15 and 21 are positioned at remote ends of thebody blank 11. A kerf or notch 34 is provided in the side margin 35 ofthe front section 13 opposite to the small finger portion 1'7, and asimilar kerf or notch 36 is formed in the side margin 37 of the backsection 14. The kerks 34 and 36 define thumb receiving margins 38 and 39in the glove body 11.

Referring to FIG. 2, the thumb blank 12 includes a front strip portion42 and a back strip portion 43 of substantially equal length and beingjoined along a fold line b--b at the common tip end 44 thereof. The freeouter margins 45 and 46 of the strips 42 and 43 are adapted to besecured to the margins 38 and 39, respectively, of the kerfs 34 and 36.Each of the margins 45 and 46 may be provided with a projecting tab 47to facilitate locating or positioning the thumb portion 12 on the glovebody 11.

A feature of the present invention resides in the use of a stretchfabric; that is, a fabric Woven or knit from an elastic thread or yarnand possessing predetermined re silient or elastic properties. Severalstretch fabrics are available in the market and a typical fabric used inthe present invention is a stretch, 70 denier, nylon tricot fabricmanufactured by Southern Silk Mills of Spring City, Tenn. The fabricshould be woven to be expansible in all directions and should possesstotal or composite elongation properties (adding the degree of stretchin the end or warp direction and the degree of stretch in the lateral orweft direction) of about 200%. The opti mum stretch in the end directionshould be about 35-50% with a minimum stretch of about 30%.

In making a glove construction 10 according to the present invention,the glove body and thumb patterns are oriented on the stretch fabric ormaterial With the finger portions extending in the direction of endstretch and the blanks 11 and 12 are cut to the patterns. The glove bodyblank 11 is folded on itself at the fold line a-a to superirnpose theback section 14 over the font section 13. FIG. 3 illustrates a preferredmethod of stitching the glove body 11, in which a continuous threadchain 48 is used from the wrist margin 28 around the small finger 23 andalong the sides of each major length finger 24, 25 and 26 to the thumbopening 36 to sew the front and back sections together. The thread chainfoms side seams 48' along the sides of each of the three long fingerportions and is carried across or around the folded fingertip ends 29,30 and 31 in an unbroken, free thread chain loop 49 so that no stitchedseam is formed along the fold line of the fingertips. Acco'dingly, sincethe finger sheaths or stalls formed by these finger portions are ofequal length, the degree of fabric stretch accommodates adjustment toactual finger length to achieve a fit. Another thread chain forms a seam50 between the thumbopening 36 and the wrist margin 28.

It will be understood that the thread chain loops 49 may be clippedaccording to conventional stitching techniques. In addition to thisconventional practice, it is possible to use a further technique ofapplying an alcohol solution of nylon resin on the end of each fingerseam 48' to prevent raveling. Such an anti-fray solution is availableunder the trademark Sergene from E. L. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and isdescribed in Technical Information Bulletin I -l70 dated October 1961.

The thumb blank 12 is folded on itself to superimpose the back strip 43over the front strip 42. FIG. 4 illustrates the stitching of the thumbblank 12 to forma thumb cot or stall and shows that a continuous threadchain is used to form seams 51 along the sides of the thumb cot and anunbroken, free thread chain loop 52 extends around the thumb end 44 sothat no stitched seam is formed along the fold line of the end 44.

FIG. 5 illustrates the stitching of the thumb cot 12 into the thumbopening of the glove body 11. The thumb cot 12 is turned so that theside seams 51 are laterally disposed or transverse of the plane of theside seams 43 of the finger portions 24, 25 and 26. The thumb portionmargin 45 of the front strip 42 is stitched by a seam 56 to the thumbreceiving margins 38 of both the front and back section kerfs 34 and 36with the tab 47 being indexed at the adjacent glove body seam 48", andthe back strip margin 46 is secured by the seam 56 to the margins 39 ofthe kerfs 34 and 36 with its tab 47 indexed at the adjacent body scam50. The manner of stitching the thumb cot and glove body together isselected to catch the end of one seam in another seam to preventraveling, and the chain loops 49 and 52 also constitute a novel means toprevent raveling. In fact, the use of the chain loops 49 and 52 permit askilled seamstress to close the glove body 11 and thumb cot 12 and sewthem together with one continuous seam. It is preferred to use astandard 401 stitch which is relatively more extensible or less bindingthan other conventional textile stitching, and also to stitch the gloveconstruction 10 under fabric tension whereby the stretch characteristicsof the fabric will not be restricted by the seams.

It will be clear that the kerfs 34 and 36 are identical in size so thatthe thumb hole in the glove body 11 extends inwardly from the outerforefinger margin the same distance on both the front and back sections13 and 14. Therefore, the thumb cot 12 is set into the glove body 11 toextend outwardly normal to the outer forefinger margin and a glove 11may be used for either the right or left hand so that only one glovepattern is required. Since the side seams 51 of the thumb cot arelaterally disposed relative to the body seams 48, the smooth fabricsurface of front section 42 extends across the ball of the thumb.

Referring to FIG. 6, it will be seen that the glove construction 10 maybe finished by providing a wrist hem 53 having seam 54 using ananti-fray solution (Sergene) finish to prevent raveling. The hem 53 maybe provided with an elastic band 55. The glove 10 is inverted or turnedinside out to conceal the raw edges or selvage of the seamed margins andthe chain loops and to provide a smooth finished glove.

Referring to FIGS. 7'9, 21 further embodiment of the glove constructionis illustrated as utilizing a twopiece pattern for the glove body 111and for the thumb 112. This embodiment, now to be described in detail,permits the use of two different materials and has particular value inthe manufacture of gloves having a nonporousfirst or front section 113for minimizing contamination from the palm and fingers and having astretch fabric second or back section 114. The non-porous material maybe a stretch nylon impregnated or surface treated with a yieldableplastic coating having a compatible stretch property so that thematerial will remain nonporous under tension.

As shown in FIG. 7, the glove body 111 has a first section 113 having acarpus or. wrist portion 115, a metacarpus or hand portion 116 andsmall, ring, middle and index phalanx or finger portions 117, 118, 119and 120, respectively. A fold line cc defines the fingertip ends 121,122 and 123 of the major length finger portions of the front or palmside of the first section, and fingertip portions 124, 125 and 126 areformed as back section extensions integral with the finger portions 118,119 and 1211'. These back section extension portions preferably haveangular free margins 127, 128 and 129 cut on the bias. The glove body111 also has a second section 114 having a carpus or wrist portion 132,metacarpus or hand portion 133 and small, ring, middle and index phalanx0r finger portions 134, 135, 136 and 137, respectively. The secondsection 114 is identical in configuration with the first section 113 inthe wrist, hand and small finger portions, and the finger portions 135,136 and 137 are preferably formed with angular free margins 133, 139 and140 complementary to the margins 127, 128 and 129 of the fingerextensions 124, 125 and 126 with appropriate seam allowance.

The finger portions 135, 136 and 137 are stitched to the fingertip backextensions 127, 128 and 129 by seams 142, 143 and 144 (FIG. 9), as bythe conventional 401 stitch, to form a pre-assembled, but unitary orintegral glove body blank 111 with identical front and back sections,only using two different materials. The angularity of the seams 142, 143and 144 is preferred as it provides maximum fabric elongation forstretch fit of the finger sheaths. The glove body 111 also has thumbreceiving kerfs 145 and 146 formed in the first and second sections 113and 114.

As shown in FIG. 8, the thumb portion 112 has a front strip 148 with afree margin 149 and a thumb tip end 151) defined by a fold line d-d. Athumb tip back section extension 151 is formed integral and preferablyhas an angular margin 152 cut on the bias. The second or back strip 153of the thumb 112 has a free margin 154 and an angular margin 155complementary to the back extension margin 152. The angular margins 152and 155 are stitched by a conventional 401 stitch forming a seam 156whereby a pie-assembled, but unitary or integral thumb blank 12b isformed.

The glove body and thumb blanks 111 and 112 are stitched together in thesame manner as the glove embodiment shown in FIGS. 16, and it will beapparent that the thread chains of seams 142, 143, 144 and 156 will becaught and prevented from raveling by the side seams of the fingersheaths or stalls 135, 136 and 137 and the thumb cot or stall 112.

It should be noted that in the FIGS. 79 embodiment of the invention, theglove 110 is intended to be constructed of two different materials-onefor the first or palm section 113 and another for the second or back ofthe hand section 114. Although this would appear to restrict the use ofthe pattern shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 to the left hand only, it will beseen that by folding the back section extensions 124, 125 and 126oppositely on the fold lines 121, 122 and 123, the same pattern isreversible for use in making either right-hand or left-hand gloves. Thethumb pattern is similarly reversible, but the finished glove will onlybe useable on one or the other hand. Accordingly, the body pattern maybe modified so that the thumb cot 112 may be set into the palm sectionin a usual manner, as by the Bolton technique, English thumb or thelike.

It should also be noted that the end seam of the small finger portion ineach of the glove embodiments and 110 can be eliminated by providing anintegral back section extension following the same pattern arrangementfor the major length fingers 118, 119 and 120 shown in FIGS. 7-9.Although the sensitivity of the glove wearer will be improved byeliminating the end seam and material bulk in each of the finger sheathsand thumb cot, the small finger and even the ring finger are notconsidered to be critical since, in most persons, the thumb, index andmiddle fingers do the major sensing work.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present inventionconstitutes an important advance in the glove art. Each embodiment ofthe glove is made from a simple pattern that is easily oriented on thestretch fabric in a manner to reduce waste of material. The unitary bodyand thumb blanks 11 and 12 obviate the need for fourchettes or kyles andother small pieces so that excessive stitching is not required and theglove manufacture can be performed by relatively unskilled labor andautomatic equipment may even be adaptable to the swing of such gloveconstruction. Although the glove construction is simple in design, thefeatures of the invention provide a snug fit for a range of hand sizeswith adaptation to dilferent finger lengths as well as accommodateeffective enlargement of the hand when clenching or grasping an object.The glove construction of the present invention eliminates bulk ofmaterial and end seams at the fingertips to provide for end elongationof the stretch fabric to achieve the necessary fit and to improvecomfort and sensitivity of feel. Furthermore, there is no seam extendingacross the ball of the thumb as the thumb cot is set into the glove bodyto locate the seams along the sides.

The present invention is intended to encompass such changes andmodifications of the embodiments herein disclosed as will be readilyapparent to all skilled in the art, and the invention is only to belimited by the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A glove construction comprising a body portion and a thumb cot, thebody portion being formed from a unitary blank having similar first andsecond sections, said body portion having at least two finger sheaths ofequal length formed with unseamed end folds, said thumb cot being formedfrom a unitary blank and having opposed side seams and an unseamed endfold, and said thumb cot being set into an opening in said body portionat the margin to locate said side seams laterally of the ball of thethumb of a wearer, said side seams of said thumb cot being disposed in aplane transverse of the plane of the side seams of said finger sheathswhereby said glove construction is adapted for use on either the rightor left hand.

2. The glove construction of claim 1 wherein the body portion and thumbcot are formed from a stretch fabric providing endwise elongation toadjust the relative length of said two finger portions.

3. The glove construction according to claim 2 in which the optimumendwise elongation of said stretch fabric is about 3550% with a minimumstretch of about 30%.

4. Glove body means comprising substantially similar front and backsections of a unitary integral blank with each section having seamlesswrist and hand portions and finger portions extending from said handportions and being disposed in opposed end-to-end relationship, at leasttwo finger portions of each section being of equal length and beinginterconnected along fold lines adapted to define the tip ends of saidtwo finger portions of each section, the first and second sections beingformed integrally from a stretch fabric having predetermined endelongation in one direction, said finger portion of said first andsecond sections extending in the one direction of end elongation of saidfabric.

5. The glove body means of claim 4 wherein three finger portions of eachsection are of equal length and are interconnected along fold linesadapted to define the tip ends of the three finger portions of eachsection.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,226,604 12/1940 Geissmann 21692,386,688 10/1945 Julianelli et al. 2169 2,447,951 8/1948 Lindfelt 21672,538,837 1/1951 Johnston 2- 169 2,898,021 8/1959 Miles et a1. 223-43 X2,907,046 10/1959 Scherr 2159 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Examiner.

1. A GLOVE CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A BODY PORTION AND A THUMB COT, THEBODY PORTION BEING FORMED FROM A UNITARY BLANK SIMILAR FIRST AND SECONDSECTIONS, SAID BODY PORTION HAVING AT LEAST TWO FINGER SHEATHS OF EQUALLENGTH FORMED WITH UNSEAMED END FOLDS, SAID THUMB COT BEING FORMED FROMA UNITARY BLANK AND HAVING OPPOSED SIDE SEAMS AND AN UNSEAMED END FOLD,AND SAID THUMB COT BEING SET INTO AN OPENING IN SAID BODY POR-